2023: There's a reason this book has been EVERYWHERE

You probably are going to pick this one up because your aunt or your grandmother recommended it to you, or like me, one of your good friend's moms gushed about it. And they are not wrong! This novel would be entirely appropriate for you to suggest that your mom pick it for her next book club meeting. This is an easy read that women of all ages will enjoy. Also, it's coming out as a show on AppleTV+ staring Brie Larson, so you better read it before it comes out later this year!

There are some sad parts and there are some misogynists, and there are a couple of honestly kind of brutal rape scenes. But the book moves on faster than Elizabeth Zott does, simply presenting the facts and brushing itself off, and zipping right along to the next scene. So keep that in mind as a trigger warning, but the abuse is treated as simply more motivation for Zott to achieve her goals.

There are moments that remind you how short life is, and to always tell the people you love just how much. It was a sweet book overall! I don't mean to downplay that I did enjoy this book; I just don't think it was particularly monumental. And that's okay too! Maybe this will finally satisfy my mother's desire for me to recommend a "light-hearted" read to her...

2023: starting this year off right with a BANGER from Barbara Kingsolver

I was gifted three copies of this book for Christmas, because something about me screams that I would want to read all about substance abuse in the south. But here's the deal, my people know me, because this book was INSANELY good. I expected nothing less from Kingsolver, who is one of my favorite authors, and this definitely lived up to the hype.

It was especially insane to read this story about a young football player who fucks up his knee and is prescribed oxycontin, as I was a 14 year old soccer player who tore her ACL and was prescribed oxy after my surgery to get it fixed. Luckily, I had a high pain tolerance, I healed well, and my mother was well-read enough that she actively encouraged me not to take it. But it just goes to show how circumstances can really dictate your own responses to similar situations.

This book was one of the best stream of consciousness novels that I've recently dug into. It has one of the more effective uses of punctuation that really made me feel like I was inhabiting Demon. The story flowed so well! Kingsolver is a master at her craft. However, I am going to keep my eyes open for reviews of this book, especially from people who formerly suffered from substance abuse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Barbara Kingsolver has never done heroin, but that's just an assumption of mine! I totally believe that her life has been impacted by oxycontin (whose hasn't at this point?) but I sort of doubt that she's ever been coked out of her mind addicted to painkillers. Just as I would hesitate to believe a story that was written by a person of the opposite gender about a huge life experience that never happened to the author, I'd love to read some additional perspectives on the reactions to this novel.

A small part of me wants to jump back into David Copperfield and see all of the parallels with Dickens, but the bigger part of me is looking immediately to getting my hands on Empire of Pain.